Parole denied again for killer of B.C. family of six murdered at campsite in 1982
David Ennis has been denied parole for the fourth time for the 1982 murders of six Kelowna family members at Wells Gray Park. A surviving relative says the family is relieved but exhausted by the recurring process.
Killer of six denied parole for fourth time in B.C. camping massacre
Global News CA — Crime (EN) reports that the Parole Board of Canada has once again denied parole to David Ennis, the man who shot and killed six members of a Kelowna family at Wells Gray Park near Clearwater, B.C., in 1982.
Ennis, who previously went by the name David Shearing, murdered George and Edith Bentley; their daughter Jackie Johnson; son-in-law Bob Johnson; and the couple's grandchildren Janet, 13, and Karen, 11, while the family camped at the provincial park. He fatally shot the four adults, kept the two girls alive for several days, sexually assaulted the older child, then killed both children and set fire to the vehicle in which he left all six bodies. A berry picker later discovered them.
The board's decision states that Ennis poses a risk of violent or sexual reoffending that would be unmanageable if he were released. An aggravating factor cited in the ruling was Ennis's choice to "callously and viciously" kill six people in order to gain access to a female child victim and satisfy what the board described as his sexually deviant fantasies.
Kristal Woolf, great-niece of Bob Johnson, told The Canadian Press the family is grateful the board rejected his application for a fourth time. "We are extremely happy that the parole board has gone in our favour," she said, adding that the family wishes it did not have to repeatedly fight against his release.
Ennis was previously denied both day and full parole in 2008, 2012, and 2021.
Woolf said the recurring parole process carries a significant emotional toll because the family never feels the matter is permanently settled. Relatives typically begin preparing roughly a year before each hearing — speaking to media, contacting podcasters, and circulating an online petition opposing Ennis's release.
"It's like you don't get closure," Woolf said. "This is a great win right now, but it's not a win forever." She said the prospect of either full or day parole remains frightening, since Ennis could once again be living among the public while the relatives he killed never had that opportunity.
The board noted that Ennis has completed correctional programming and made some gains, but Woolf rejected the idea that he could be fundamentally changed. "I do not believe that he could change who his core person is," she said.
The family continues to honour the six victims by sharing stories and keeping their names publicly visible. The Johnson Bentley Memorial Aquatic Centre in West Kelowna also carries the family's name and displays photographs of them.
Ennis is serving a life sentence.
Source: Google News CA — Crime (EN)